Intense Initiation (1)
No doubt about it—that boy had to be the Third Prince, Edwin.
Edwin was dressed in clothes that made his royal status obvious at a glance. Only the imperial family would be insane enough to wear garments plastered with such lavish embroidery and jewels.
But why would they act like that toward a prince?
I was still wondering about the rude way the boys had surrounded and were taunting Edwin when one of them suddenly shoved the prince to the ground.
“Damn it, seriously!”
The orange-haired boy pushed the prince without hesitation. I widened my eyes.
I might not know much about children, but I knew exactly what kind of temperament noble boys that age usually possessed.
He’ll probably start crying and screaming for a servant any second now.
I watched closely, waiting for the prince to burst into tears so I could step in naturally at the right moment.
But his reaction was completely outside my expectations.
“That’s mine! Give it back, you cheaters!”
Far from looking defeated, the young prince threw himself even more fiercely at the boys who were twice his size. He had hit the dirt hard enough that it must have hurt, yet he kept going.
He’s got some spine, at least.
The orange-haired boy, however, didn’t seem to lack spirit either. He was too busy waving something above the prince’s head and mocking him.
“I told you—His Highness should come and take it himself, right?”
Only then did I realize the object in the boy’s hand was a piece of jewelry.
A bracelet?
It was a woman’s bracelet made by stringing together pearls and rubies. For something belonging to the imperial family, it felt rather crude. Maybe that was why it looked strangely familiar.
“Your Highness, you have to keep your promises. Especially someone of your royal blood.”
“I never made any promise with you people!”
The prince shouted sharply at the boy addressing him, but the other simply shrugged.
“This is something we fairly won from Your Highness in a bet. Yet you’re trying to steal it back like a little rat.”
At the word rat, the prince’s eyes wavered.
“T-that’s because you cheated me…!”
“Cheated? That’s a dangerous thing to say.”
The orange-haired boy widened his eyes in mock surprise.
“How could worthless scum like us possibly dare to cheat His Highness the Prince? Isn’t that right, Gail?”
At his words, one boy who looked like the leader stepped forward from the center of the group.
The boy called Gail was particularly large and burly, with a vicious expression that stood out even among the others.
“If you want it back that badly, why don’t we make another bet?”
Gail squatted in front of the fallen prince and gripped his shoulder tightly.
“What will you wager this time? How about that hand of yours?”
His eyes gleamed with cunning as he flashed a smile.
Honestly. Watching these brats who still smelled of milk trying to act like gangsters was almost laughable. I let out a small sigh and began walking toward them.
Since I had decided to stay here for the time being, I needed to carry out my role properly.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here?”
The moment I spoke, every boy’s gaze snapped toward me.
“…Rachel?”
Prince Edwin—looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
Startled by the sudden appearance of an uninvited guest, Gail frowned.
He had heard that the Third Prince was such a nuisance that even the maids wouldn’t come looking for him if he disappeared, but it seemed the rumors had been exaggerated.
Mistaking the nanny Rachel for a mere maid, he clicked his tongue.
“Tsk. We’ve got an interloper. Let’s go.”
Gail was about to leave with his pack of followers when Edwin grabbed his sleeve and held on.
“Give it back! Give me back my bracelet!”
Gail scowled and shook the prince’s hand off in one sharp motion.
He really couldn’t stand the boy. A pathetic child with nothing to recommend him except his royal blood, lounging around doing nothing—it was sickening.
“Hold on a moment.”
At that moment, Rachel called out to stop him.
“It seems His Highness has something he needs to receive from you.”
“What?”
Gail’s eyes widened; he clearly hadn’t expected her to interfere.
“Leave it behind. While I’m still asking nicely.”
Rachel offered the boy her sweetest possible smile.
In truth, only her face was smiling—her words were closer to a threat. Thanks to her gentle appearance that made people think she would grant any request, it didn’t come across as intimidating at all.
Meanwhile, the boys who had heard Rachel exchanged uneasy glances.
“Hey, aren’t we screwed? No matter what, if they find out we actually touched the prince, we’re all dead.”
“Don’t panic. I heard all the maids at the Third Prince’s Palace come from insignificant families. If we have to, we can just shut her mouth…”
Gail ground his teeth as he listened to them.
Idiots. Getting scared over a single sentence.
He put on his most confident expression and walked up to Rachel.
Maybe it was because Gail was larger than others his age, or perhaps because Rachel was smaller than average. Either way, he looked down at her with clear contempt.
“Miss Maid, this is something we won fair and square from His Highness in a bet.”
With his hands in his pockets, Gail spoke as if challenging her.
“But His Highness barged into our quarters on his own and tried to take it. That’s basically theft, wouldn’t you agree?”
Rachel listened, then turned her gaze toward the prince.
Edwin was simply trembling with humiliation.
Gail sneered at the sight.
Hah, and that’s supposed to be royalty.
The way the boy immediately avoided eye contact the moment their gazes met was truly pathetic.
Then Rachel spoke again, her voice impossibly gentle.
“In that case, how about making a bet with me as well?”
“…Pardon?”
“I’m saying let’s wager for that bracelet.”
Gail’s face went blank at Rachel’s completely unexpected proposal.
“Since you obtained it through a bet, you wouldn’t mind losing it through one, would you?”
She smiled brightly, showing her teeth.
Gail let out a disbelieving laugh.
He had heard that even the noble-born maids of the Third Prince’s Palace all came from insignificant families. But he was different.
He was the youngest son of a count, a page to the Second Prince, and at the same time the top apprentice to the craftsman who built the Emperor’s carriages. Of course he was still just an apprentice, but his status was far higher than some nanny who wiped the floors for the Shabby Prince.
After laughing for a long while, Gail exchanged glances with the boys standing on either side of him.
“Fine. If that’s what the maid wants.”
His oily eyes scanned Rachel up and down.
“But what will you be wagering, Miss Maid?”
“Well…”
Rachel gave a light shrug.
“How about my hand? Whatever you want.”
“What?”
Wagering her hand, just like that.
Gail was taken aback by Rachel’s utterly calm expression.
Hah, so even a worthless maid acts all high and mighty because she’s still a noble.
Rachel’s confident attitude irritated him to no end. So he made up his mind.
Just like that pathetic Third Prince, he would make the woman before him kneel as well.
Gail and Rachel sat facing each other across a single wooden box.
Gail slammed a cup down onto the box.
“The game will be Monte. Oh, but maybe a noble young lady like you doesn’t know it?”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed at his words.
Monte.
A very simple street gambling game that only required three cups and one ball. It was a common pastime popular throughout the empire and the entire continent.
“I know it.”
Her still-completely-relaxed attitude made Gail frown.
At that moment, Edwin tugged at Rachel’s sleeve from behind.
“What are you doing? Get up right now!”
The prince kept his voice low as he urgently pressed her.
But instead of looking at Edwin, Rachel stared straight at Gail and answered.
“Don’t you need that bracelet anymore?”
At her question, the prince’s voice grew even smaller.
“N-no, that’s not it…”
“Then please stay quiet.”
“But they use all kinds of dirty tricks! I got tricked even while watching them!”
“It’s fine.”
“What? What exactly is fine?”
Edwin looked at her with eyes full of disbelief at Rachel’s calm tone.
Gail, her opponent, found her just as incomprehensible.
What on earth was she relying on to act so carefree?
Meanwhile, the boys who were watching quickly grew bold and began jeering at Rachel.
“You picked the wrong opponent, Miss Maid. Gail is a master of Monte, you know?”
“Too bad, Miss Maid. Even if you cry and beg later, we won’t go easy on you.”
But Rachel simply murmured with the same relaxed expression as before.
“…What a shame.”
As if she truly meant it.
Gail placed the ball inside the rightmost cup and flipped it over.
“You get three chances. If you guess correctly at least twice, it’s your win, Miss Maid.”
“Very well.”
The moment her answer left her lips, he began mixing the cups.
The three cups moved so quickly they left afterimages. Everyone’s eyes were locked on the cups flying across the top of the box.
Tap.
Finally, Gail’s hands stopped.
He grinned at Rachel.
“Which one?”
“The right.”
Her answer came without the slightest hesitation, and silence fell.
Rachel’s face was expressionless, yet filled with certainty.
Watching her, Edwin swallowed hard.
“Not bad, Miss Maid.”
Gail shrugged as if he had gone easy on her since it was her first time, then flipped the cup.
Just as the maid had said, the ball was in the rightmost cup.
“If you get the next one right, I win.”
And Rachel—she was staring at Gail with ice-cold eyes.
Gail flinched without meaning to as he met her gaze.